The 20th Catalan Book Fair of Menorca was held on October 10 at Plaça des Born in Ciutadella, in an edition that paid tribute to the Menorcan illustrator Marino Benejam and placed comics and illustration at the heart of its program.

Organised by the Department of Culture, Education, Youth, and Sports of the Island Council of Menorca, with the support of the Ciutadella City Council and the Menorca Library Network, the fair featured seven local bookstores: Llibreria Pau, vaDllibres, Sa Catòlica, Ca na Juana, Llibreria Jocs, Sa Llibreria, and Xalallibres.
Returning to the western part of the island after being held in Maó in 2024, this year’s event offered a full day of literary, artistic, and cultural activities.

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The 20th Catalan Book Fair of Menorca celebrated the Year of Marino Benejam, highlighting comics and illustration

The Minister of Culture, Education, Youth, and Sports, Joan Pons Torres, emphasised that “coinciding with the Marino Benejam Year, we wanted to give comics and illustration a leading role, not only to honour Benejam’s legacy but also to bring the ninth art closer to new generations of readers.”
Pons described Benejam as “a key figure in the history of Spanish comics, deserving of recognition in his homeland.”

Throughout the day, the fair hosted a wide range of educational, literary, and artistic activities.
The morning began with students from IES Josep Maria Quadrado, who officially opened the fair with the inaugural speech and participated in youth-focused literary events.

In the afternoon, visitors enjoyed a literary café with Joan Triay and Joan Pons, a presentation of new publications by Fina Salord and Olga Vallverdú, and the final round of the “Carta en terra…” contest, organised with the Menorca Library Network.

Other highlights included a comic illustration workshop led by artist Zaca, a children’s session with Bitmax&Co creators Jaume Copons and Liliana Fortuny, and a literary brunch with author Xavier Bosch, who presented his novel Diagonal Manhattan.
The event concluded with a poetic dialogue with Damià Rotger and a special podcast by Ràdio Far, hosted by Blanca Noguera.

To end the celebration, five bookshop vouchers were raffled among attendees, reaffirming the fair’s mission to promote reading, support local bookstores, and celebrate Catalan-language culture in Menorca.